Over the years of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, different strategies and decks have risen to prominence. Even in the Base Set days, strong players were discovering new deck ideas to dominate competitive play. After two decades, the Pokémon Trading Card Game still has a thriving scene of smart and creative players always pushing the format forward. However, with over twenty years to look back on, what were some of the strongest decks in their respective formats?
Before jumping right into the decks, it's important to establish exactly how the Pokémon card game handles rotations. Every year or so, old sets of cards are "rotated out of the format." This means they are no longer able to be used in competitive play. This rotation not only helps to keep the card game fresh but also demands that players pick up new strategies and deck ideas.
There is also an "unlimited" format where many more cards can be used, but this format isn't nearly as popular. There have been many strong decks throughout the game's life, but with all of this said, what decks defined the meta of the formats they were born into?
Haymaker TCG Deck - Elecatabuzz/Hitmonchan/Scyther
The oldest deck on this list is the now infamously-titled "Haymaker" deck. Haymaker was possibly the first truly meta defining deck to ever exist in the Pokémon Card Game. It reigned over the competition with its simple yet incredibly strong premise. The deck only ran Scyther, Electabuzz, and Hitmonchan. What these cards all had in common was decently high HP (for the time), small energy costs with high damage output, and, best of all, they were all basic Pokémon. Haymaker was feared because it applied pressure to the opponent almost right out of the gate, and it never let up until the sixth prize card was drawn. Undoubtedly a very simple deck, but one that many players dreaded fighting due to its ease of use and speed.
Psychic Lock TCG Deck - Gardevoir
Interestingly, Gardevoir always seems to be very strong in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Perhaps her strongest appearance comes in the "Psychic Lock" deck. Psychic Lock was such a powerful deck archetype that it not only won the world championships once but twice. The deck ran a full line of Gardevoir which had the powerful ability "Telepass," which allows the player to choose a supporter card from their opponents discard and use the effect of it. This ability could be used every turn and was a ridiculously strong ability. On top of this, the deck was often run with Gardevoir Lvl X and a Claydol line to utilize its ability "Cosmic Power." Overall, the deck was intensely oppressive and strong once it got a full set up going.
LuxChomp TCG Deck - Luxray/Garchomp
The Luxray Garchomp deck is a perfect example of mixing two strong and simple Pokémon cards to make a revolutionary deck. This deck centered around both Luxray G Lvl X and Garchomp C Lvl X, two of the strongest cards in their given format. Luxray was infamous at the time for its ability "Bright Look" which allowed the player to move an opponents benched card directly into the active spot. However, smart players would mix this already oppressive ability with Garchomp C Lvl X, which had an ability with healing properties and a move that could snipe the bench for 100 damage. In the format where it existed, Luxray Garchomp was always the deck to beat. If a deck had no shot at dealing with either Luxray, Garchomp, or both, it was pretty much deemed unviable. Simply put, Luxray Garchomp was the textbook definition of "meta defining."
Eelektrik Variants TCG Deck - Mewtwo/Rayquaza/Eelektrik
Eelektrik is likely one of the last Pokémon anyone would expect on this list. But yes, this (not even fully-evolved) eel creature was so powerful that it earned its way directly into so many successful decks. Eelektrik was an intensely versatile card due to its shockingly broken ability, "Dynamotor." This ability allowed Eelektrik to take electric energy from the discard pile once a turn and attach it directly to a benched card. This led to many players running four Eelektrik with attackers that took advantage of its amazing ability. Many early variants of this deck ran Mewtwo EX which would do more damage with more energy attached to it. With Eelektrik's ability, this energy could be accelerated to Mewtwo incredibly fast for high damage output early in the game.
Another partner for Eelektrik was Rayquaza EX, which did massive amounts of damage with the downside of discarding electric energy attached to it. However, Eelektrik's ability made this downside almost no existent, as it could fish those energies out of the discard again. Overall, Eelektrik is a shockingly strong card, especially given how unassuming it seems.
Team Plasma TCG Deck - Thundurus/Deoxys/Kyurem
In retrospect, the Team Plasma deck is a very simple one. The deck ran three strong cards, Thundurus EX, Deoxys EX, and Kyurem. Due to all three cards being Plasma cards, they obtained the benefits of "The Plasma Engine". Cards like Colress Machine and Team Plasma Ball kept the deck consistent and fast. Essentially, the goal is to simply use strong plasma attackers like Thundurus and Kyurem while Deoxys powers them up on the bench with its ability. Deoxys itself could also be utilized to deal with Mewtwo EX's at the time as well, but Kyurem was the real star of the show. It had high HP, low attack cost, and wasn't even an EX. Overall, the deck was solid and simple and this led it to a world championship win in 2013.
Pikachu and Zekrom Tag Team Variants
The most recent deck on this list, and certainly the most powerful in terms of solely damage output, the Pikachu and Zekrom deck is fast, powerful, and incredibly difficult to take down. The deck runs Dedenne GX to speed it up with its strong ability "Dedechange." Zeraora GX and Pikachu and Zekrom GX have strong energy acceleration and huge damage output. This deck seems to mix together much of the stronger elements from past formats. Big, bulky, basic Pokémon, energy acceleration, and consistency are all here. Overall, the deck is hard to contain with its huge damage output and sustainability.
Although many decks had to be left out, these six deck archetypes proved to be very dominant in their respective formats. The future of the Pokémon Trading Card Game is currently uncertain. Although, given how fun and diverse many of these decks are, there is little doubt that future decks will follow in their footsteps.